Tag Archives: grand opening party

Amazing day celebrating the Grand Opening of Smash Mountain View! The phenomenal growth of the Smash community is the result of countless people going above and beyond to support each other. We are proud to share our values, community and unique brand of fitness with the amazing people of Mountain View! Just as we have done all over the rest of the Bay Area.

I’d like to recognize the partners at Smash Mountain View. These owners put on a great event and together have built another amazing new location to serve our members.

Over the past few months the team has been working tirelessly to create a location to make the Smash Family proud. It is incredibly difficult for small businesses to be successful. Although the collective experience of our community provides incredible advantages, the work still has to be done. Every locations is different, and has its own unique set of challenges. Make no mistake, the people at Smash work very hard to find success. All the talent and experience in the world means nothing without hard work. But we know hard work isn’t enough. It is commonly repeated in our conversations that we know we would not exist without the amazing people that support us. Our family, friends, members, instructors and fellow owners are the reason why we continue to grow and thrive in the hardest place in the country to open a small business.

Rudi Ott is leading the Mountain View location. He has worked incredibly hard over the past few months. As head Coach of Smash Fighter and playing key leadership roles in two Smash locations, his experience as gym owner and dedication to the vision has helped Mountain View grow quickly into a successful business. He set up the Grand Opening party, played host, then jumped in his car and drove four hours to corner a Smash Fighter. This is just one of many examples of his dedication to the Smash Family.

Brian Kuhn moved back from Colorado to open new Smash. Brian was one of the first BJJ students at Smash Sunnyvale, he then became a popular kickboxing instructor. A lifelong martial artist, Brian has taught martial arts and fitness for over two decades. Now as a Smash Gyms owner, he was able to celebrate the Grand Opening of his own business along with being promoted to a Jiujitsu Black Belt on the same day. He has worked endless hours to make a beautiful gym. He without a doubt has put in the most effort, time, and money to make Smash Mountain View a success.

Chris Mendel was one of the first members at the first Smash location. Now he is an owner of his own Smash! Chris is in charge of customer service and is the first smiling face you will see when you walk into Smash Mountain View. He cares deeply about the people in our community and has long wanted to be more involved. We are very fortunate to have someone like Chris sitting in the captain’s chair every night.

Christopher Robertson’s classes are an example to all instructors of the kind of energy, programming and attention it takes to be the best at your craft. As an owner of Smash Hayward he is either teaching one of his many classes or driving around the East Bay and South Bay to give Smash members the best experience possible. Like all of our partners, he has sacrificed immensely for the opportunity to make a significant impact in the fitness and health of more people.

Leo Shen and Eli Sanchez who have helped build Smash’s disciplines and procedures always jump in head first when we need help at a new location. They have dedicated the past few years of their lives to build Smash and help new locations and owners replicate the success we have had at all our other locations.

To teach new classes, at a new gym, and build a following from scratch, is not easy! Special thanks to Michael Jen, Zack, Tristian, Mike Olivas, Nora, Jarod, Mario, Brett, Tony, Zeus, Eddie and everyone else that has helped us run classes.

There are countless others that create the support system that allows for the continued growth of Smash. We want to thank Ed Crane who has painted all of our locations and won’t accept any pay. All that he asks of us is to, “Pay it forward boys.” George Melendez, Joe Gonzalez, Steve Chen, Vincent & Margie Chuang, Jeff Pena, Adam Guervara, and many others showed up to help us build. All our partners and instructors that pick up the slack at existing locations to provide us and the organization with an opportunity for growth.

Debbie Sanchez

Michael Jen

Rose Jen

Filip Novachkov

Mario Rios

Jacob Palomino

Lou Noble

Nannette Noble

Tony Gabucan

Jake Tannenbaum

Evan Esquerra

Mark Mazon

Most of all, I’d like to thank the families and significant others of the team for putting up with us over the past few months. Debbie, Quyen, Desiree, Meloe, Alyssa and Dolores, thanks for all the love and support.

There are too many people to list. If you are part of the community or support system we are thankful. We will continue to dedicate our lives to building an exceptional organization. We are a community of people that will do anything we can to help each other be successful. We just happen to have really good martial arts and fitness classes.